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Rnral School Leaflet No. 8. November. 1922. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BUREAU OF EDUCATION 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 



ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF LAWS' CONCERNING 
TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 

By Edith A. Lathbop, 
Speoialiet in Rural Education. 

Free transportation for children living long distances from school 
is not usually considered by the courts as a necessary school facility 
unless it is specifically required by the statutes. Yet the right of 
the child to an education is so generally recognized throughout the 
United States that all of the States have laws, of one sort or another, 
that make possible the transportation of pupils at public expense for 
consolidated as well as for other types of schools. 

SPECIFIC LEGAL PROVISION FOR TRANSPORTATION IN 4 3 STATES. 

Forty- three States have specific legal provision for transporta- 
tion. In the remaining five States, Delaware, Florida, New Mexico, 
Utah, and Wyoming, pupils are transported under general statutory 
provisions. 

The State board of education in Delaware is required to sub- 
mit a budget to the governor. The laws of the State provide that 
two of the items in this budget shall be for the maintenance and 
support of elementary schools and approved high schools. The 
State board of education is, therefore, acting within its rights if it 
decides that transportation is necessary for the maintenance of ele- 
mentary and high schools. That the State board of education does so 
interpret this provision of the law is evinced by the fact that the 
State budget for thebiennium 1921-1923 includes $65,000 annually for 
replacement of abandoned schools and transportation. By replace- 
ment is meant the reopening of schools that have been closed. 

County school boards in Florida are empowered to perform all 
the acts necessary for the promotion of the educational interests of 
the county, and transportation is interpreted by county school 
boards as necessary for the promotion of educational interests. 

1 Includes legislation enacted to Janoary 1, 1922. 
-22 



2 LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OP PUPILS. 

In New Mexico very broad powers are conferred upon county 
boards of education, and the attorney general has ruled that trans- 
portation may rightly be included within these powers. 

County school boards in Utah are authorized to do all things 
needful for the success of the school, and transportation is inter- 
preted as needful. 

The State superintendent of Wyoming is authority for the state- 
ment that pupils are transported in that State under a broad inter- 
pretation of the law providing for tuition of elementary pupils. 

Twenty-seven of the 43 States include transportation as a feature 
of one or more of their consolidation laws. In the remaining 16 
States provisions for transportation are included under powers and 
duties of school boards in such a manner as to apply to consolidated 
as well as other schools. All this shows that transportation is con- 
sidered a necessary feature of consolidation. 

PUPILS MUST BE TRANSPORTED IN 12 STATES. 

The laws of 12 States specify that for certain types of schools 
pupils must be transported. These States are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 

In the remaining 31 of the 43 States in which transportation laws 
have been enacted the statutes leave transportation to the discretion of 
the school authorities. 

AGENCIES THAT EFFECT TRANSPORTATION. 

The various States provide five agencies by means of which trans- 
portation may be effected: The State board of education (Dela- 
ware) ; the county board of education ; the school superintendent of 
the town (Maine); the local school trustees; and by popular vote 
of the people. 

Transportation is effected by the county board of education in the 
following nine States: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana 
(parish board), Maryland, Montana (three counties organized under 
county-unit form), North Carolina, Oregon (counties organized un- 
der county-unit system; none reported so far), Tennessee. It is 
interesting to note in this connection that all of these States are, 
with the exception of Georgia and Montana, States with the strong- 
form of county-unit administration. Montana, however, permits 
counties to organize on the county -unit plan, and it is within these 
counties that county boards of education may carry out trans- 
portation. 

The most common way of effecting transportation is through the 
local school trustees. The laws of 29 States place this power in their 



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, LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 3 

hands. These States are : Arizona, Arkansas, California (must have 
in addition the written approval of the superintendent of schools), 
Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Mississippi, Missouri (if the attendance of any elementary school 
in a consolidated district falls below 10), Montana (noncounty- 
unit counties), Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, 
Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wis- 
consin. 

The statutes of the following 10 States have authorized the people 
to decide whether consolidated districts, or in some States special 
types of consolidated districts, shall transport pupils — Connecticut, 
Idaho (may vote a tax for transportation), Massachusetts (towns 
may appropriate money), Michigan (in township unit act for the 
upper peninsula), Missouri (for pupils living more than one-half 
mile, New Hampshire, New York (provide local tax), North Da- 
kota, Oklahoma (in union graded schools), Wisconsin (for pupils 
living less than 2 miles and under 6 or over 16 years of age). 

The duplication of States in the above paragraphs is explained by 
the fact that a number of States have more than one law for 
transportation. 

WAGON, AUTOMOBILE, RAILWAY, AND WATER TRANSPORTATION LEGALIZED 

A few States have specified in the laws one or more means of con- 
veyance that may be used in transporting children. Arkansas, In- 
diana, and Oklahoma mention wagons; Arkansas, Indiana, and 
South Dakota, automobiles; South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and 
Massachusetts, interurban cars and steam railways; and Oregon, 
water. The laws of Massachusetts authorize that children trans- 
ported by means of street and elevated railways to public and private 
schools shall be charged not to exceed one-half the regular fare. 
This applies to such distances as are necessary for them to travel to 
and from their homes and the schoolhouses where they attend school. 

Usually the laws say but little concerning the character of the con- 
veyance other than it shall be safe and comfortable. The laws of 
Indiana and Ohio provide that the driver shall have an unobstructed 
view of the road ahead. Indiana and Michigan state that the con- 
veyance shall be heated in severe weather. 

CHARACTER AND DUTIES OF THE DRIVER. 

Just as State laws make but few regulations concerning the con- 
veyance, so it is with the driver of the same. The general tendency 
is to leave details affecting the driver to the authorities whose duty 
it is to administer transportation. The laws of the following 12 



4 LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 

States contain certain regulations that pertain to the driver: 
Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, 
Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 

In Indiana and Ohio the law goes into more detail than in the 
other States. The legal regulations in these two States pertain to 
bond, contract, age, character, experience, care in crossing railroad 
tracks, and discipline of the children. 

The laws of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, and 
Ohio specify that the driver shall furnish bond for the faithful per- 
formance of his duties. The amount of the bond is named in the 
laws of two States — Nebraska, $5,000; and Nevada, an amount equal 
to the total wage for the current school year in which said driver is 
hired. 

In Iowa the contract of the driver must set forth the route, 
length of time contracted for, and compensation. Contracts can not 
be sublet in Indiana, under penalty of forfeiture, except in case 
of illness or unavoidable absence. 

In Indiana and Ohio the laws place the minimum age of driver 
at 18 years. Ohio makes an exception in favor of a high-school 
student, 16 years of age. 

In four States — Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, and Oklahoma — the laws 
specifically state that the driver shall be of good moral character. 

A driver in Indiana must be experienced in handling teams and 
driving automobiles. 

Two States — Indiana and Ohio — require that the driver be espe- 
cially careful in crossing railroad or interurban tracks. The In- 
diana law states that the driver must bring the vehicle to a stop 
and have some responsible occupant get out, walk ahead, and declare 
the tracks to be free after looking in both directions for approach- 
ing cars. The law of Ohio specifies that the driver must bring the 
vehicle to a full stop, and must not proceed across the tracks until 
it is absolutely certain that no train is approaching from either 
direction. 

The laws of Maine, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, 
make the driver responsible for the discipline of the children. In 
Wisconsin, the driver must not use profane or improper language, 
nor permit the same to be used on the part of the children. He is 
further authorized to report all cases of insubordination to parents 
and teachers. 

ROUTES, SCHEDUUeS, DEPOTS. 

It is generally assumed that school boards will make rules and 
regulations concerning most of the details of both routes and sched- 
ules. The one detail concerning routes that is specified most often 



LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 5 

in the statutes is the minimum distance between school and home 
beyond which pupils arc to he transported. 

Three States — Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan — specifically mention 
that the school boards shall designate the routes. The laws of Iowa 
give the school board the power to suspend the trip upon any day 
or days when in their judgment it would be a hardship upon the 
children or when the roads are impassable. Nebraska, Nevada, and 
Ohio state that the schedules shall be regular. 

The laws of the following 17 States specify the minimum dis- 
tance between school and home beyond which pupils are to be trans- 
ported: Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missis- 
sippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and 
Wisconsin. This distance ranges from 1 mile to 2| miles. Eight 
of the 17 States place it at 2 miles. 

Three States have written into the law the maximum distance that 
pupils may be required to walk in order to meet the public con- 
veyance. In Ohio it must not be more than one-half mile from the 
residence or the approach thereto. The laws of Pennsylvania 
specify that the total distance any pupil must travel between his 
residence and the school, in addition to transportation, shall not 
exceed 1| miles. In South Dakota the points where the vehicles 
stop shall not be more than five-eighths of 1 mile from the home 
of the child. 

The laws of Ohio name the places where children congregate to 
meet the vehicles' depots. Pennsylvania calls them stations. The 
laws of both States declare that these depots or stations shall be 
made comfortable in cold and stormy weather. 

PARENTS REIMBURSED FOR TRANSPORTING THEIR OWN CHILDREN. 

Eight States legalize the payment of parents for transporting 
their own children for all or part of the distance. 

The laws of Iowa provide that parents may be reimbursed for 
transporting their own children for a distance not to exceed 2 miles 
in order to connect with the vehicle. 

The laws of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Da- 
kota, and Wisconsin (under certain conditions) authorize parents to 
transport their own children the entire distance at the expense of 
the districts. 

The statutes of three of the above States fix the rate that parents 
shall be paid for transporting their own children. In Kansas it is 
25 cents per day for each pupil transported. North Dakota pro- 
vides that it shall not be less than 20 cents nor more than $1.50 per 
school day of attendance, based on the distance traveled; and, fur- 



6 LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 

ther, that the total expense, where the family system of payment is 
used, shall not be greater than the system of public conveyance. Wis- 
consin sets the rate at 40 cents per day providing the children attend 
school five months. 

CHILDREN MAY BE BOARDED WHERE TRANSPORTATION IS IMPRACTICABLE. 

Seven States — Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, South Da- 
kota, Vermont, and Wisconsin — authorize school trustees to board 
children who live in out-of-the-way places, providing the same may 
be done more economically and conveniently than by transportation. 
The Michigan law limits the boarding of pupils to instances in which 
less than six pupils reside on or near any one route and the cost of 
boarding such pupils is less than the cost of transporting them. Wis- 
consin provides that the amount paid for board shall not exceed 
$2.75 per school week for 5 days. 

SOME STATES AID TRANSPORTATION. 

Consolidated schools in eight States — Michigan (rural agricul- 
tural schools), Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South 
Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin — are assisted through special appro- 
priations by the State for transportation of pupils. Schools receiv- 
ing this aid must meet certain provisions specified in the law. 

In certain other States in which the State fund is distributed in 
such a manner as to equalize financial burdens and educational oppor- 
tunities, transportation is included. These States are Delaware, 
Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. This matter is discussed in a leaflet 
on the subject, " How Laws -Providing for the Distribution of State 
School Funds Affect Consolidation." 1 

CONCLUSION. 

Transportation of pupils living long distances from school is fast 
being recognized as a function of school boards in the fulfillment 
of their obligation to providt school facilities. The laws of 43 
States specifically legalize transportation. In 27 of these States 
these laws are a feature of some form of consolidation laws. The 
five States that make no mention of transportation in the laws are : 
Delaware, Florida, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Transpor- 
tation in these States is made possible by a broad interpretation of 
the powers and duties of school authorities. Transportation is man- 
datory in 12 States for certain types of schools. In the remaining 31 
States it is permissive if the school authorities deem it best. The 
most popular way of effecting transportation is through the local 
school trustees. Twenty-nine States put this power into their hands. 

1 Rural School Leaflet No. 5, U. S. Bureau of Education. 



LAWS CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS. 7 

The laws have little to say concerning the details of transporta- 
tion relating to the conveyance, the route, and the driver. As a rule, 
regulations concerning conveyances relate to comfort and safety. 
Twelve States make certain specifications concerning the character 
and duties of drivers. These regulations are concerned with bond, 
contract, age, character, experience, care in crossing railroad tracks, 
and discipline of the children. Seventeen States specify the mini- 
mum distance between school and home beyond which pupils shall 
be transported. Eight of the 17 States put this at 2 miles. The 
remainder vary between a minimum of one-half mile and a maxi- 
mum of 24 miles. Other points in the law regarding routes are 
concerned with the schedule, the maximum distance that pupils 
may be required to walk in order to meet the vehicle, and places 
for shelter at the points that pupils meet the conveyance. 

Seven States provide that parents may receive compensation for 
either a whole or part of the distance for transporting their own 
children. Seven States authorize school boards to pay the board 
of children in lieu of transportation when it is more economical. 
The State assists in paying for transportation in eight States 
through special State aid and in three through certain provisions 
relating to the distribution of State funds. 

It is clear from this discussion that but few States write many 
items into the law concerning the details of transportation. Usually 
this is left to school authorities effecting transportation. A study 
of the rules and regulations laid down by boards of education re- 
garding transportation shows that they conform in general to the 
legalized regulations which a few of the States have written into 
the statutes. 



WASHINGTON' : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1922 



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